Cat Itecture: Better Cat Window Boxes
gwern.net25 points by gggscript 20 hours ago
25 points by gggscript 20 hours ago
> If cats are autistic, “what cat window box would Temple Grandin design?”
There's a book called All Cats Are On The Autism Spectrum, and I was reminded of it while reading this post. (I found myself relating to the description of cat psychology.)
There's a book about the sibling construction: the cat ladder. It's called "Arcatecture"[0].
I've personally found that the most comfortable human spaces incorporate layers of exposure as described in the article.
I also find our cats' preferences to mirror ours (even when we're not around), with the added depth of how they fit into cabinets and other small spaces.
I feel as tho our failure to architect for cats properly is more a symptom of laymen approaching architecture.
Aside: on a much larger scale, I've found commercial construction often sucks at this (except at the high end) while haphazard diy builds often naturally incorporate this.
There's a real "nerd layman" approach to architecture that is instantly visible - and they never really know why they feel uneasy in their incredibly brightly lit daylight-colored room.
But even people who seem to either study architecture/design/layout or figure it out accidentally leave the cat to its own devices - but everyone knows cats like to be in boxes, so provide various "boxes" for your cat in the design and they'll use them.